Overview

This document details the procedure for upgrading the Cisco UC Virtualization Hypervisor (VMware vSphere Hypervisor) that is used by Cisco Business Edition servers. The following table provides the links to additional information for each of the upgrades.

While VMware offers a number of different upgrade strategies for the vSphere Hypervisor, the following interactive update process is suitable for any Cisco Business Edition server deployment and can be carried out either locally or remotely.

As common licenses are used for ESXi 5.x software releases, you do not have to upgrade licenses when upgrading between ESXi 5.0, ESXi 5.1, or ESXi 5.5.

Procedure

Procedure

Step 1

Using either a Firefox or Internet Explorer browser, log in to the Business Edition server CIMC interface. If prompted, accept any untrusted certificates from the server host address.

Step 2

Verify that access to the remote server console is possible by launching the KVM Console from the Server Summary page.

Note

Chrome browsers may not automatically run the Java KVM Console. In this case, click on the downloaded file, then follow the options to run the Java script using the javaws.exe application. For Java 7 installed on a Windows 7 PC, this file location would typically be C:\Program Files(x86)\Java\jre7\bin.

Step 3

Using the vSphere client, access the Business Edition Hypervisor management interface.

Make a note of which virtual machines are running.

Make a note of the active license key. Select the host object in the inventory list, then select Licensed Features from the Configuration tab.

Note

Do not use free or trial licenses provided by VMware, as these licenses may time expire. Use either the UC Virtualization Hypervisor license provided with the Business Edition server, or licenses that are purchased through Cisco or VMware.

Step 4

Select each running virtual machine in turn and power it down by pressing CTRL+D or using the virtual machine shortcut menu to select Shut Down Guest.

Step 5

After the virtual machines have shut down, select the host entry at the top of the inventory list, then select Enter Maintenance Mode and then Shut Down. You can access these commands through the host context menu (right click).

Step 6

From the CIMC Server Summary web interface, verify that the server power state is off.

Step 7

Using the CIMC KVM console, select the Virtual Media tab to connect the hypervisor installation file as follows:

Click Add Image… and select the installation ISO file from the local disk.

Select the Mapped option for the ISO image file to create a Virtual CD/DVD drive for the server.

Step 8

Ensure that the server is configured to boot from CD-ROM by using the Configure Boot Order option on the CIMC Server > BIOS. Adjust the device priority, if required.

Step 9

Restart the server by clicking Power On Server from the CIMC Server > Summary.

Step 10

Select the KVM tab of the KVM console. As the server boots from the ESXi installation package, the Installer interface is displayed. Use the following choices to complete the upgrade process:

Welcome Screen: Press Enter to continue.

End User License Agreement: Press F11 to accept and continue.

Disk Selection: Ensure that the local disk array is highlighted and press Enter to continue.

The installer will detect the presence of an existing hypervisor and datastore. Select Upgrade ESXi, preserve VMFS datastore and press Enter to continue.

Confirm Upgrade: Press F11 to start the upgrade process.

Step 11

When the upgrade has completed successfully, use the CIMC Virtual Media interface tab to remove the ESXi installation file and mapping before pressing Enter in the KVM tab to reboot the server.

Step 12

After the server reboots, use the vSphere client to access the hypervisor management interface. When accessing the upgraded hypervisor for the first time, the vSphere client will automatically upgrade. Accept default options and license to complete this process.

Note

When you upgrade to ESXi 5.5, the updated vSphere client carries a warning that new features are only available through the vSphere web client. As it is possible to manage Business Hosts without using new vSphere features, you can continue to use the traditional vSphere client.

Step 13

Select the host entry in the inventory list and select Exit Maintenance Mode.

Step 14

Verify that the license key recorded in Step 3B is active (Configuration > Licensed Features) for the host object.

Step 15

Power on all virtual machines that were running at the start of this process to finish the upgrade.

Note

When upgrading Virtualization Hypervisor hosts that are not managed by vCenter, to ESXi 5.5, do not upgrade virtual machines to vmv10 or later. You can edit vmv10 clients only by using the vSphere web client, that is not supported by the Virtualization Hypervisor license.

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